Description:
If you have a story to tell, and you know it could be told best through film, the challenge and reward of documentary filmmaking awaits you.  Putting together a good documentary (and getting it seen) is like completing a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle the size of a basketball court…and all the pieces are blue. This three-hour seminar will cover the basics of this demanding and underpaid art form, from the personal to the practical.

We will cover the following topics:
- what defines a "documentary"
- finding a story, research, and finding your own voice
- who does what and who pays for it
- preparing to shoot interviews and B-roll
- working with others, organizing the mess logs, outlines &   scripts
- licensing music and footage
- new technologies to pay attention to
- funders, markets, and film festivals.

Presented as a Lecture-Style Workshop:
Affordable workshops designed to introduce a subject quickly and efficiently. Students can take notes from the instructor's projected computer screen, and/or bring their own computer to follow along.

Who Should Take This:
Some experience in the field is helpful but not a requirement.

Instructor:
Abigail Wright has been a professional director, actor, writer, producer and filmmaker for twenty five years. For the independent film company Miranda Productions, Inc. of Telluride, Colorado (www.mirandaproductions.com), Abigail wrote and produced three documentaries on the American environment - My Father's Garden, Canary of the Ocean, and Wilderness: The Last Stand - which have accumulated over fifty major awards and have been broadcast all over the world. Most recently Abigail wrote and produced The Shaman's Apprentice, about the search for new medicines in the Amazon rain forest. This film is currently being broadcast on LinkTV. Future Miranda Productions projects include Dear Beatrice, about an advice columnist who once upon a time was the country's most famous woman, and Queen Anne & Butch, the true story of a Colorado cattle rustler and her love affair with Butch Cassidy. Before moving to Boulder in 1994, Abigail acted and directed on stages in New York, Toronto, and Montreal. She is also a founding member and Director of the Golden Sun Foundation for World Culture.

BDA Member Cost: $50.00 ($60.00 after Thursday, February 11, 2010)
Non Member Cost: $70.00 ($80.00 after Thursday, February 11, 2010)
Become a member to save $20.00